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Four young hikers stranded by bad weather at Melaleuca in the far south-west pondered how to spend their time before a delayed flight arrived to ferry them back to Hobart. They had run out of food and booze, and there was no internet connection. All they had was a pack of cards with pictures of birds. As they waited for the weather to clear, they set out to devise a card game of their own based on their knowledge of birds, coincidentally a game also in keeping with their … [Read more...] about Bird card game has hikers in a spin

For bird-watchers, winter is the time for caliology - that’s the study of birds’ nests in case you are wondering. During this time of year with trees and shrubs stripped of leaves, nests are easy to find. The nests of bigger sticks built by ravens and currawongs are also blown from trees in winter storms. The subject of nests came up when I was invited to appear on ABC Radio’s Afternoons with Joel Rheinberger recently, in their current daily segment devoted to … [Read more...] about Kelp gulls discover plastic for DIY homes

The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and I’m in a hurry to complete my walk at the Waterworks Reserve before sunset at 4.43 pm. A pair of tawny frogmouths watching me go by are in no hurry at all - they have the longest night of the year to go about their nocturnal business. I always make a point of getting out for a long walk during the winter and summer solstices and the autumn and spring equinox. It’s at those times that we notice that our fragile planet … [Read more...] about Night to remember as frogmouths chill out

During the countdown to the burning of the platypus effigy at Dark Mofo, a little girl climbed on her father’s shoulders for a better view of the Ogoh-Ogoh event. “Daddy, the poor platypus is going to die,” said the child, shocked that such a wonderful, papier-mâché representation of the monotreme should go up in smoke. The burning of the platypus effigy was the latest in the annual Balinese Hindu ritual in which Dark Mofo participants write down their fears, for these to … [Read more...] about Loss of waterways robbin’ us of beauty

“Turf wars” are being waged across the western world as conservationists question the value of these green adornments to our gardens. In Britain some local councils declared last month as “No Mow May” and in Australia and New Zealand the lawn is increasingly being seen in some quarters as an unwelcome throw-back to our colonial past. The traditional lawn has been under fire for years because of its lack of biodiversity and voracious appetite for fertiliser, herbicides and … [Read more...] about Maintaining lawns a pain in the grass